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Summary: Elegance of a mathematical proof
Review: As a mathematician, I was amazed by the elegant structures of the stories in this book; the kind of simplicity and careful constructions can only be found in proofs written by experienced mathematicians. Using the favourite term of the Hungarian mathematician Paul Erdos, Jhumpa's stories are probably directly taken from the "Book" - where the most beautiful and elegant proofs (and now stories) can be found.
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Summary: Good Golly, Miss Molly.
Review: If we are treated to such a collection every decade we should count ourselves lucky. Simply seamless and spell-binding.
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Summary: All wonderful stories
Review: Let me first say that I enjoyed every one of the stories--there is a pleasent variety of situations presented in the book. I didn't find any of them a chore, at all, to read. They were interesting and each obviously built to an exciting climax. My favorite of them is "Sexy," in which, I think, the subject of the short is true/good love, even though there is no direct example of it in the story. Instead, we are shown the incumberances that keep of from this kind of love. However, even though I look back and say that "Sexy" is my favorite, I notice that I seem to want to choose each of the other stories as my second favorite. There are a few things about the book that I didn't like though:
1. The last line of "A Temporary Matter"--"They wept together, for the things they now knew"--seems to be a wrap-up, here's the moral of the story kind of line which left a bad taste.
2. The author re-uses the same trick taking a seemingly minor specific from the beginning and entering it back into the story in an important way in the end. Specificly, I notice the puffed rice/peanuts/chili peppers from "Interpreter of Maladies" and the eye gel from "Sexy." By the middle of the book, I found myself looking for this sort of thing. All in all, though, these are minor complaints. The stories are fascinating. One more thing I have to admit--I DID buy the book because of how beautiful the author looks in the picture on the back.
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Summary: I Cried....
Review: A real page turner. I simply could not put it down and carried it around wherever I went. It has a magical quality so much so that I was living each character as I read. As an immigrant from the subcontinent and as a woman, I could so identify with the characters that at times I found myself literally crying my eyes out. Her short stories manage to speak volumes and left me wishing for more.
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Summary: Vividly written and poignant
Review: 'Interpreter of Maladies' is a beautiful book. Lahiri's prose is delicate and draws you into the world of each of her stories. Her characters are lifelike and endearing, she really makes you feel for them in a short span of time, and the settings are vivid and clear. Each story is entrancing and delicate, there isn't a single one that isn't good. If I had to choose I would say that 'A Temporary Matter' is my favorite, with 'Mrs. Sen's' and 'Sexy' being close seconds. I would highly recommend this book to anyone, it is far too good to miss out on. The only shame here is that Lahiri has not written another book to follow up to this one. It would be a shame to waste such amazing talent.
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Summary: A Surreal peek into Indian Lives...A graceful book
Review: Ms. Jhumpa Lahiri is one of those authors with an eye for detail...her words flow from the pages and you drift into and are caught into her enchanting words filled with hope, dreams, bluntness, shock, reality, etc... These stories tell tales of Indian men and women alike living in America who deal with issues such as death, infedility,hopelessness, etc... A beautiful piece of prose which needs to be applauded!! I would highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to explore the realms of reality and truth!
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Summary: Good for a first novel
Review: I am not sure how to rate this book. There is a part of me that wants to (and could easily) give it five stars. Each story has been told beautifully. Every story is interesting. And upon finishing the book I am sure that I will look for any future books by the same author. The problem that I face (and the reason I gave it 3 stars instead of the 5 it begs for, and in a lot of way deserves) is that I can't quite get out of my head the simple fact that there is nothing new here. I've had a subscription to the New Yorker for something like 15 years - since I was a teenager - and while this book stands out like as a kind of glowing example for everything that is good about the New Yorker style of writing, I have to admit that the style itself is becoming a bit of it's own genre, and thus is becoming a bit of a cliché. Don't get me wrong, this is a very good book and even though I only finished it last night, I have already started recommending it friends. This is the perfect kind of book for book clubs everywhere, for summer reading and for people who don't read much (but want something quasi-transcendent when they do). And to be honest, this is perfect kind of book for people (like me) who like to read a good first book and then secretly hope that the writer can, with every subsequent book, improve.
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Summary: Beautiful....!!
Review: To sum up in one simple word..... BEAUTIFUL.... The writing is some of the best I have read in years... A sheer master of poetic language... you will not be dissapointed
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Summary: A marvelous collection of stories
Review: I have a deal with the owner of an independent book store in my neighborhood - each quarter she chooses ten books and I buy them, read them and critique them. When this book was in my pile I deferred saying, "You know I don't read short stories." She looked at me and said, "You need to make an exception for these." Once again, she did not steer me wrong.
I was involved from the first story straight through to the end. The characters are fully developed and each of her stories is unique. Although I read them more than a year ago, I can recall the inhabitants of her stories, their conflicts and issues as clearly as if I had read the book yesterday. Don't let this collection - even if you don't read short stories - pass you by.
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Summary: J. Lahiri :The Interpreter of Maladies Who Touches the Soul
Review: The stories J Lahiri relates resemble captured still portraits in time. Just as James Joyce's epiphanys represent moments of revelation and recognition, some of these sketches portray pivotal moments, real turning points in ordinary peoples' lives. One such touching story describes the fragile first moment of true communication and recognition of shared grief in a rapidly disintegrating marriage after a stillbirth. This simple but critical event nearly fails to happen. It is ironically brought about by an unexpected series of planned power outages which portend to save this marriage. Many other stories provoke deep reflection and thought, and linger on in our memories. The essential futility and tragedy which is caused by religious conflicts between the Indian Hindu and the Pakistani Islamic populations is graphically depicted . The irrationality of religious intolerance is addressed in the ironic dinner scenes of immigrants from these very two confrontational backgrounds sociably eating together while watching the evening tv news coverage of that military conflict. They obviously have become good friends after discovering each other in the US. Lahiri poses that essential rhetorical question - how else are they different? Each of the stories in this volume is well crafted, sensitive and meaningful. Lahiri offers us quite a nice assortment. The fact that these are stories concern Indians in India, returning Indian emigrees from the US, Indian American imigrants and first generation Indian Americans adds ethnic flavor and interest, but the themes Lahiri addresses are universal. The format of a short story by nature demands brevity and conciseness for impact. Rarely do short stories leave lasting impressions. Only exceptional writers like William Styron are sufficiently skilled to convey real meaning so that that brief encouter lingers on in the reader's memory. The maladies affecting her protagonists which J. Lahiri relates so well will follow us as we lay down this thin volume and ponder what we have read, a testimony to her skill and art as a writer. I look forward her development in fiction to the day she authors her first novel
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